Public Invited to Meeting on Roberto Clemente Park Site

Public Comment Period Runs Through October 17

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) in conjunction with the New York State Department of Labor and the Suffolk County Department of Health Services will hold a public meeting on Thursday, October 9 at 7 p.m. to present the Draft Material Removal Work Plan (Work Plan) for the Roberto Clemente Town Park (Park) in Brentwood.

The meeting will be held at Health Sports Education Complex Lecture Hall at the M.J. Grant Campus of Suffolk Community College, 1001 Crooked Hill Road, Brentwood.

At the meeting, NYSDEC staff and environmental consultants working for the Town of Islip will describe the contents of the Work Plan.

The Park occupies approximately 30 acres on the west side of Broadway, north of West 18th Street and south of Nolin Street in Brentwood. Timberline Drive borders the Park to the west.

The remedy for the site will involve the excavation of improperly disposed fill material from the former soccer fields and the recharge basin for proper offsite disposal at approved facilities. At the conclusion of the excavation, confirmatory endpoint soil samples will be obtained to evaluate the effectiveness of the remedial effort. If the endpoint sample results are acceptable no further action is anticipated, however, additional remedial effort would be proposed in the event that the endpoint samples are not acceptable.

A Community Air Monitoring Plan (CAMP) will be implemented as part of the Work Plan. The objective of air monitoring program associated with the CAMP is to monitor air quality during excavation activities to provide protection for the community and site workers from potential airborne contaminant releases as a result of work activities. During the removal process fill material will be continuously wetted with water, prior to, during, and after removal activities to control dust.

The fill excavated from the site will be transported to approved facilities for proper disposal, which includes a landfill approved to take non-friable asbestos waste. Based on the large amount of fill that requires disposal, daily limits for landfills and facilities and other limitations, it is anticipated that multiple landfills and facilities will be used for this project.

Equipment, supplies and materials will be decontaminated prior to any equipment leaving the site. Trucks leaving the site will be covered and will follow designated routes to minimize community impacts.

Implementation of the work plan activities began with the installation of three groundwater monitoring wells this month. A public notice soliciting proposals to perform the removal of material at the Park will be published upon approval of this Work Plan. The Town of Islip expects to receive, review and evaluate proposals, followed by a contract award within 30 days of publication. Mobilization and removal activities will commence immediately following award. A detailed schedule will be established in the contract to perform the work.

Public Comment Periods and Next Steps

NYSDEC is accepting written comments about the Work Plan through October 17, which will be considered as part of DEC's review of the Work Plan. Comments can be submitted by email to: R1info@dec.ny.gov, please put Roberto Clemente Park in the subject line, or by mail to:

Ajay Shah, P.E.
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
50 Circle Road
Stony Brook, New York 11790

Where to Find Information

The Draft Material Removal Work Plan for the Roberto Clemente Town Park is available at the Brentwood Public Library Second Avenue and Fourth Street, Brentwood, the NYSDEC office in Stony Brook and at Town of Islip offices.

The Town of Islip has also posted the Work Plan and other site information on its website (which can be found in the right hand column of this page). It is also physically available at Town of Islip Clerk's Office, at 655 Main Street, Islip.

Individuals with questions about the Work Plan can contact the NYSDEC's Office of Communications at (631) 444-0350.